Refrigerating apparatus



March 1956 H. A. WHEELER 2,737,369

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 28, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Harold A. Wheeler,

mwgm #4,

March 6, 1956 WHEELER 2,737,369

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 28, 1952 INVENTOR. Harold A. Wheeler.

BY M 4 United States Patent REFRIGERATIN G APPARATUS Harold A. Wheeler, Dayton, Ohio, assignorto General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application February 28, 1952, Serial No. 273,7 92

4 Claims. (Cl. 257-239) This invention relates to refrigerating apparatus and more particularly to an improved type of watercooled condenser.

It has been found that under some conditions it is desirable to use a condenser in which it is possible to direct the water flowing through the coils of the condenser in such a manner that the water flows through all of the coils in series, whereas under other conditions it is desirable to use a condenser in which it is possible to direct the water through the coils in parallel. Thus, when using city water which is usually more expensive than well water, it is desirable to use a condenser of the type wherein it is possible to direct the water through all of the coils in'series so as to conserve on the amount of water used and so as to utilize the cooling capacity of the water to the fullest extent. For those installations in which a private well has been provided for supplying cooling water for the condenser, it is common practice to use more water and to send the water through dilferent sets of coils of the condenser in parallel. It is an object of this invention to eliminate the need for supplying two different types of condensers for these different types of installations.

The flow through the coils of a condenser can be changed by changing the manifold head or it may be changed by adding external pipes or fittings, but either of the above methods or" changing the flow through the coils requires one to have extra facilities. and supplies for making the changes on hand. Thus, the supplier, for example, would be required to carry an extra supply of manifolds or the necessary extra fittings or the like for making the changeover. It has been common practice in the. past for the supplier to have on hand specialservice packages for this particular purpose. It is an object of this invention to. eliminate the need: for carrying'extra manifolds or other equipment and yet make it possible to'changethe flow of water through the. condenser from series to parallel.

More particularly it is an object of this invention to provide a watercooled condenser having a specially constructed manifold head which makes it possible to selectively direct the water through a multiplicity of coils either in series or in parallel fluid flow relationship.

In many locations where the original installation contemplates the use of city water for cooling the condenser, it becomes necessary or desirable to discontinue the use of city water and to use well water, and when this takes place it is usually desirable to change the flow through the condenser from series to parallel.

It is an object of this invention to provide a condenser which is so constructed and arranged that this change can be made without replacing the condenser or any parts of the condenser.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is an elevational view with parts broken away 2,737,369 Patented Mar. 6,v 1956 2. showing, a condenser constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the device shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 33 of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a sectional view of the header taken substantially on line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is an elevational view showing that side of the header which connects with the water pipes in the condenser proper.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 66 of Figure 1 and is intended to show the manner of directing the water through the cooling coils.

Figure 7 is a viewsimilarto Figure 3' but showing the header arrangement when directing the water through the passages in parallel.

Referring now to Figure l of the drawing wherein there is shown a preferred embodiment of the invention, reference numeral 10 designates the outer casing orhousing of a watercooled condenser. Two sets of pipes or water coils 12 and 13 are disposed within the casing 10' and have their inlet and outlet ends arranged adjacent a manifold head or header 14 which abuts the endwall 11 of the casing 10.

For purposes of illustratingthe invention, each set of coils has been shown as consisting of three pipes formed into loops as best shown in Figure 6. The number and arrangement of the loops may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention; The one set of pipes 12' consists of three loops which occupy the lower half of the casing 10-and which are at all times connected in parallel flow relationship as will be explained more fully hereinafter.

The header 14 is. provided withawater inlet 16 and an outlet 18 as best shown inv Figures 2, 3, Sand has formed therein 5 chambers which have been designated by the reference characters. 20, 24, 25, 30'and 32.

That portion of the header 14 which fits up against the sets of pipes is provided with the three chambers which have been designatedby the reference. numerals 24; 25 and 30;

The incoming water first enters the chamber 20' which is provided with an opening 22 in its one wall which is at'all times .in direct communication with the chamber 24' which in turn is arranged. in direct. communication with the. lower ends or inlets to the one' set of coils 12'. A second opening or passage 26 is also provided in the wall of the. chamber 20 but this opening is provided with a removable plug 28 which is only removed when it is desired to direct a portion of the incoming water into the upper ends of the set of coils 13 so as to provide for parallel water flow through the two sets of coils 12 and 13. By removing the plug 28, the water entering the inlet 16 is free to flow from the chamber 20 into the chamber 30 which communicates with the one end of the coils or pipes 13.

It will be noted that the lower ends of the set of coils 13 and the upper ends of the set of coils 12 communicate with the chamber 25 at all times irrespective of the locations of the various water directing plugs.

The water outlet connection 18 of the manifold communicates with the main outlet chamber 32 which is provided with a pair of threaded plug receiving openings 34 and 36 as best shown in Figures 3 and 7. These openings are adapted to selectively receive a removable plug 38 which will fit either one of these openings. When the plug 38 is placed in the opening 34 as shown in Figure 3, it is obvious that there is direct connection between the chamber 30 and the outlet 18 so that only the upper ends of the set of pipes or coils 13 are connected to the water outlet 18 with the result that all of the water is required to flow through the two sets of pipes 12 and 13 .in series.

Figure 3 shows the plugs 28 and 38 arranged so as to cause the water to flow through the sets of coils 12 and 13 in series whereas Figure 7 shows the arrangement of these plugs when it is desired to cause the water to flow through the two sets of pipes in parallel.

In order to make it convenient to remove or rearrange the plugs 28 and 38, the one side of the header 14 is provided with three access openings 40 which are arranged as best shown in Figure 2.' Removable plugs 42 are provided for these openings so that upon removal of the plugs 42 it is possible to rearrange the plugs 28 and 38 as desired. The access openings 40 are large enough to permit withdrawal of the plugs 28 and 38 through them when it is desired to rearrange the plugs.

The header 14 is held in place on the casing by means of the cap screws 50. A gasket 52 (see Figure 1) has been provided between the header and the casing 10 so as to provide a proper seal between the meeting surfaces.

The refrigerant or other medium to be condensed or cooled is introduced into the outer shell or casing 10 through the inlet 54 and is withdrawn through the outlet 56. While the device shown is especially designed for use as a refrigerant condenser, it could be used in any other type of system in which it is desired to transfer heat from one medium to another medium.

The number of coils or pipes provided in the casing 10 may be varied without departing from the spirit of the invention. For purposes of illustration each set of coils has been shown as consisting of three separate U-shaped pipes arranged to receive the cooling water in parallel whereas more or less pipes could be provided in each set.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. In a heat exchanger, a casing, a plurality of pipes disposed within said casing and having their ends disposed adjacent one another at one end of said casing, a manifold head adjacent said one end of said casing, said manifold head having partition means arranged to provide an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber and a plurality of fluid distributing chambers, said inlet and outlet chambers communicating with said distributing chambers by means of fluid passages formed in said partition means, and removable plugs provided for certain of said passages whereby the distribution of flow through said pipes may be changed by changing said plugs.

2. In a heat exchanger, a casing, a plurality of pipes disposed within said casing and having their ends disposed adjacent one another at one end of said casing, a manifold head adjacent said one end of said casing, said manifold head having partition means arranged to provide an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber and a plurality of fluid distributing chambers, said inlet and outlet chambers communicating with said distributing chambers by means of fluid passages formed in said partition means, and removable plugs provided for certain of said passages whereby the distribution of flow through said pipes may be changed by changing said plugs, said manifold head having access openings provided in its outer wall adjacent said removable plugs whereby said plugs may be rendered accessible without removal of said head from said casing.

3. In a heat exchanger, a casing, a plurality of pipes disposed within said casing and having their ends disposed adjacent one another at one end of said casing, a manifold head adjacent said one end of said casing, said manifold head having partition means arranged to provide an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber and a plurality ofv fluid distributing chambers, said inlet and outlet chambers communicating with said distributing chambers by means of fluid passages formed in said partition means, and removable plugs provided for certain of said passages whereby the distribution of flow through said pipes may be changed by changing said plugs, said manifold head having access openings provided in its outer wall adjacent said removable plugs whereby said plugs may be rendered accessible without removal of said head from said casing, said access openings being larger than said fluid passages whereby said plugs may be withdrawn through said access openings.

4. In a heat exchange device, a pair of fluid conduits, a one piece manifold head for directing a first fluid into and out of said conduits, means for directing a second fluid in thermal exchange relationship with said conduits, said manifold head having removable plug means incorporated therein for selectively directing said first fluid through said pair of conduits either in series or in parallel, said manifold head having an inlet chamber, an outlet chamber, and a plurality of fluid directing chambers communicating with said fluid conduits, means for selectively connecting one of said fluid directing chambers either to said inlet chamber or to said outlet chamber, and means for selectively connecting another one of said fluid directing chambers to said outlet chamber.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,509,566 Price Sept. 23, 1924 1,980,626 Leach Nov. 13, 1934 2,044,455 Witzel June 16, 1936 2,186,224 Wolfert Jan. 9, 1940 2,247,105 Tinker June 24, 1941 

